We are already over two months into the season and the outlook of talent the MLB has seen is incredible. Besides the Aaron Judges and Cal Raleighs and Shohei Ohtani’s of the world, there are so many other notable names that may get unrecognized under the bright lights of baseball. I want to shoutout the guys that have shoved and haven’t stopped their run of domination up to this point. The journey man type players who may not have had much job security in the past but have proved to their teams that they are here to stay.

NYM RHP Reed Garrett 1.5 WAR, 2-2, 0.95 ERA

Shoutout to the Mets for sticking through with Reed Garrett and trusting his abilities to be a reliable back end of the bullpen. Garrett has had ups and downs in his career being a journey man relief arm with no sign of a long term home, he bounced around from the Nationals to the Orioles to the Rangers with none of them showing consistent results. 2025 is a different Reed than seen in years past, he has now cemented himself as the top bullpen arm for the Mets behind Edwin Diaz. This year for Reed has proven different as he sports a sub 1.00 era in 29 innings pitched for an era+ of 400. It is magical the talent that the Mets pitching lab has been brewing over the producing over the years and I am excited to see how this will turn out to be a special season for him.

TBR 1B Jonathan Aranda 2.3 WAR, 3.14BA, .879 OPS, 151 OPS+

The Rays are always going to be known as the team that can turn no name players into perennial all stars add Jonathan Aranda to that list. Not only has he raised his WAR by 3.2% but he has also increased his batting average, OBP, and OPS by 100 points. Not only is he at an all star level but he has the chance to represent Tampa Bay in the all star game as a starter, he has just been that good. In 63 games he has 64 hits, 36 RBIs, 25 walks for a slash line of .314/.403/,475.879 for an OPS+ 50% above 100.

ATH SS Jacob Wilson, 2.4 WAR, .366BA, .520 SLG, 93 hits

Jacob Wilson looks like a lock to win the rookie of the year award, his stellar performance this season also makes him a strong candidate to start the all star team. In 64 games this season he has the second highest batting average in the league (.314) he has the most hits, runs, doubles and OPS as a rookie and is the fastest Athletic in their history to reach 90 hits. In a year when the Athletics were stripped of their franchise and forced to play a full season in a minor league park, Jacob Wilson’s breakout campaign feels all the more special.

COL RHP Jake Bird, 2.1 WAR, 1-1, 1.41 ERA, 327 ERA+

I might have found the best relief pitching season and it happens to come from the worst baseball team in baseball. Jake Bird’s 2025 season with the Rockies currently ranks as one of the best relievers up to this point. He leads relief pitchers in WAR with a remarkable 2.1 WAR to go alongside a 1.41 ERA, 38.1 innings, 50 strikeouts in 28 games and a 1.070 WHIP. If Bird keeps this up for the entire season he would immediately have the greatest Rockies season as a relief pitcher in history. Unlikely for this to happen as regression is imminent but it is notable that in the worst stadiums for pitchers he has been dominating with pure filth. While the Rockies’ single-season record for ERA+ belongs to 2018 rookie starter Kyle Freeland, no current reliever matches Bird’s efficiency over a comparable stretch. Only reliever that can compare is Jake Reed’s 1995 season for the Rockies where held batters to a .203 average to go alongside 4.1 WAR and 5-2 record. Regardless of history Jake Bird is on pace to shatter these records. He already has 2.1 WAR in 28 games he can definitely shatter 4.1

CHC C Carson Kelly, 2.0 WAR, 35 hits, 9HR, .851 OPS, 144 OPS+

I actually cannot believe how successful Carson Kelly has been for the Cubs and that his early season performance wasn’t just some fluke. Kelly is a ten year vet with minimal success offensively as a catcher however with this season he has put that to sleep. A career OPS+ of 90 was silenced with Carson’s breakout season that saw him surpass the league average for OPS since 2021. So far this season he boosts an OPS 44% better than league average, among that he has a 2.0 WAR while playing in 43 game missing just 26 while playing in tandem with Miguel Amaya. Although not already reflected in the overall stats, Kelly began the season scorching hot—hitting .361/.500/.820 with 8 home runs in just 80 PA through early May, including hitting for the cycle. This could be a serious case for the Cubs that they might want to consider resigning him for long term. A catcher who can hit in Chicago is something Wrigley hasn’t seen since Wilson Contreras.

These are some of the guys that stood out to me as some of the best in their position and some that have been widely unrecognized in the league. But now that we see these guys performing it only makes you wonder how far they will go with this.